1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beverage dispensing and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods and an apparatus for dispensing beverages effectively with a reduced width beverage dispenser.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the beverage dispensing industry, counter top space continues to be a precious commodity. Store owners continuously face the problem of not having adequate counter top space to house all of the different types of product dispensing equipment and related supplies. Beverage dispenser manufacturers are continually pressed to provide smaller dispensers while increasing dispenser capabilities. Beverage dispensers with increased features typically include additional valves and additional flow controllers for additional product flow paths.
Existing beverage dispenser designs require a minimum width per nozzle or in the case of a multi flavor nozzle, a certain width per flow control module pair. As such, any increased number of flavors or dispensing valves in a beverage dispenser creates a compounding width dimension, as the flow control modules are typically in close proximity to the dispensing nozzle for easy servicing.
Further, the recent popularity and increased usage of non-carbonated beverages and ambient refreshments creates increased demands on remote towers, as more flow control devices must be utilized to control the flows of the added products. The situation if still further complicated by the addition of bonus flavors that are injected into a brand beverage, as the beverage dispenser likewise must accommodate and control the flow of the bonus flavorings.
Accordingly, an easily serviceable beverage dispenser able to provide increased capabilities without the increased width associated with standard beverage dispenser designs would be beneficial to beverage dispenser operators, beverage dispenser manufacturers, and beverage dispenser service agents.